Alcohol Abuse Impact on Relationships and Friendships

Key concepts in both theories are feedback, homeostasis and boundaries that are defined and operationalized in this section. Nathan Ackerman, Jay Haley, Murray Bowen, Salvadore Minuchin, Virginia Satir, and Carl Witaker, among others were highly influential figures in this movement and developed its applications to psychiatric treatment. Out of this theory multiple models of family therapy developed including but not limited to strategic, structural, experiential, and more recently the multisystemic family systems therapy (MFT) model. All the family therapy models share the basic principal of family systems theory that is that the individual cannot be fully understood or successfully treated without first understanding how that individual functions in his or her family system.

Family Therapy for Alcohol Addiction

• Feelings of helplessness and despair, desperate cries for help, and living with guilt are feeling which are typical examples of the emotional distress experiences of addiction-affected families, which were found by various studies [29, 35, 38, 41, 44].
• Compared to other approaches, MDFT has a higher long-term effect on both adolescent drug use and family functioning (Rowe, 2012).
• The literature also is clear that improved access to AUD treatments among diverse populations is needed.

This issue creates severe problems in the long run for other family members due to daily encounters with these issues and facing addiction to such an extent that may cause these individuals to suffer from severe psychosocial problems and isolation [53] or enter the path of drug use [27]. When seeking help to recover from alcohol use disorder, there are several therapeutic approaches to changing the individual’s behaviors so they stay sober. Spouses, children, siblings, parents, and other family members can all be negatively impacted by a person struggling with addiction; at the same time, the person with AUD may be triggered by existing problems in family relationships, which need to be solved.

Important note on domestic abuse

Domestic violence is often a behavior which will likely repeat itself among subsequent or succeeding generations of an alcoholic. Financial concerns might lead to greater stressors how does alcohol affect relationships for everyone involved, and it is a serious consequence of the alcoholism. Alcohol addiction does tend to run in families, but that’s not why it’s called a family disease.

• MDFT is based on indirectly helping family members to implement new ways of interacting with one another and supporting their family member’s drug-free lifestyle and facilitating a change of perspective.
• Results showed that when couples in this sample obtained access to treatment, they utilized couple therapy services and derived positive gains.59 Thus, research is needed to better understand AUD recovery among families with different socioeconomic advantages or disadvantages.
• Healthy boundaries are important in the normal development of a family and children.
• Trust is essential for a healthy and functioning relationship and can be challenging to repair once damaged.

What Makes a Family Healthy

As a person who believes really deeply in harm reduction, I’m not going to start from a place of assuming that we’re going to wake up tomorrow morning and alcohol is no longer going to exist in the world. And I’m also not going to demonize people who drink, because that is not compassionate. Protective factors are characteristics that may decrease the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating intimate partner violence. There is consensus among researchers about the consistent and overdose intake of illicit drugs affects the brain and causes biological changes to the body.

• Therefore, one of the best ways to prevent alcohol from altering your relationships is to recognize the beginning signs and stages of addiction.
• It may take some hard work to stay true to yourself, but in the end, you will be glad you did.
• Children may be forced into a parental role for parents who can no longer function independently.
• People with alcohol addiction often become secretive over time to hide their dependence out of fear, shame or guilt.
• Learning about the experiences shared by families struggling with substance abuse, and the resources available to cope with those experiences, can make it easier to overcome this all-too-common disease.

How Families Can Find Help for Alcohol-Related Issues

FAMILY IMPACT

• With adults, engaging one adult – a worried significant other, for example – using a family therapy approach can strengthen the entire family system and support the person overcoming AUD.
• Assessment not only of the individual in front of you but of their family members as well such as parents, siblings, and extended family members may be needed.
• Cutting the drinking off before it can develop into addiction can help prevent its devastating outcomes.
• Furthermore, MDFT also involves other influencing systems, which maintain drug abuse, through the “extrafamilial” work.
• When one of then starts to behave in a way that contradicts those values, tensions between friends can arise.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Inpatient or Outpatient Treatment